Kaikoura earthquake: Bad weather swoops in

Clean-up efforts in earthquake-stricken parts of New Zealand could be hampered on Thursday, with high winds and rain forecast to hit.

MetService says southerly gales are expected to spread up the east coast of the South Island during the day.

They could become severe along the Kaikoura coast and in Marlborough from late Thursday morning until evening, and in Wellington in the afternoon and evening.

Heavy rain is also expected for parts of Canterbury and Marlborough.

MetService meteorologist Derek Holland says the good news is that the weather will settle down heading into the weekend.

Warships join evacuation

Warships from three nations are about to join the Kaikoura evacuation operation. The Samson, from the US, and Australia's Darwin, are expected in Kaikoura "mid-morning", the Defence Force told Newshub.

Their helicopters will fly alongside those from New Zealand Navy ships which by late Wednesday had taken out about 600 people, most of them foreign tourists.

Air traffic controllers are being brought in because the area is so busy with helicopters.

Monday's earthquake cut Kaikoura's road and rail links, leaving more than 1000 visitors stranded.

HMNZS Canterbury left Kaikoura with about 450 evacuees on board late on Wednesday and was due to arrive in Lyttelton early on Thursday.

"The New Zealand Defence Force has now evacuated about 600 people from Kaikoura," said Acting Civil Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee.

"Evacuations will continue for as long as necessary and as of tomorrow, several ships from other nations will arrive off the Kaikoura coast ready to be mobilised."

Those ships, due to arrive on Thursday, are American, Australian and Canadian warships that had arrived in New Zealand for the navy's 75th anniversary celebrations in Auckland.

As the evacuation continues, work will go on to open an inland road link into Kaikoura from the south.

"At this stage, it's hoped the route will be cleared by the weekend," Mr Brownlee said.

NZDF all-terrain vehicles are currently using it but the road isn't yet fit for civilian cars.

Prime Minister John Key on Wednesday visited Kaikoura for the second time since the earthquake, returning to tell reporters State Highway 1, Kaikoura's main road link, was buried.

"The mountain has literally moved, there's a tremendous amount of rubble," he said. "It will have to be moved and then the mountains and hills behind it stabilised - there's no quick fix for this."

Mr Key spoke to stranded tourists and said they were out and about enjoying their experience. That was backed up by English couple Karen and Robert Corbett, from Liverpool, after they had been flown out.

"The New Zealand people and certainly people in Kaikoura were absolutely fantastic - their support and organisation was really good," Mr Corbett said.

Help also coming from the air

People on isolated farms in south Marlborough are about to get their first face-to-face contact with the outside world since the quake.

Over the next three days, an RNZAF multi-purpose A109 helicopter will sweep the province's remote high country and properties cut off by slips and damaged bridges.

Marlborough District Council says the chopper will carry food and medical supplies as far south as the Clarence River. The area covered will include the upper Awatere Valley, which is cut off by a massive slip that is expected to take some time to clear.

The council says a commercial helicopter will drop a 1500-litre load of water on the slip to dislodge loose material so a digger can safely begin to clear it.

Police Senior Sergeant Dan Mattison says some properties have had no phone or internet links since the quake struck.

"The next few days will be the first chance to check that they are okay and to reassure them that they have not been forgotten," he said.

An inspection of Ward township has revealed that almost half the houses there have suffered some damage.

There is no restriction on accessing 74 houses, but five others have been given red stickers (serious damage and re-entry prohibited) and 27 have yellow stickers (some damage).

Ward is still without its water supply or sewerage system.

The council plans to meet the operators of the area's two private water schemes on Friday to decide how to proceed with repairs.

Help for stricken businesses

Meanwhile the Government is working on a support package to help local businesses get through the disruption, with an announcement expected in the next 24 hours.

The Government anticipates spending billions repairing earthquake damage, and Finance Minister Bill English says the economy is strong enough to meet the cost.

It doesn't yet have an estimate on the bill it's going to face for fixing devastated road and rail links around Kaikoura, but Prime Minister John Key has said he expects it to be "in the billions".

Mr English has told Parliament public debt is at a manageable level, the budget is in surplus, and the economy is growing.

"We are well-positioned to respond to the Kaikoura earthquake," he said. "There is fiscal headroom to support the rebuild and recovery."

• Kaikoura quake damage worse than thought - Key

Mr English said market reaction to the earthquake had been reassuring, with the New Zealand dollar initially falling and then quickly recovering.

"BNZ reports that the hit to GDP will be substantially less than the Christchurch impact, although there will be some significant short-term effects for the regional economy," he said.

"Activity, of course, will be significantly boosted by the rebuilding of infrastructure."

• John Key vows to keep Kaikoura businesses on their feet

Many buildings in Wellington's CBD will need to be repaired along with northern Canterbury towns and significant portions of roading.

Infrastructure New Zealand chief executive Stephen Selwood says big lessons have been learned from Christchurch.

"All of the companies work together with NZTA and the local government sector to collaboratively work out what the best allocation of the existing resources is, so no one's skills, capability or people are wasted."

Mr Selwood says they're not underestimating the hard work ahead.

Communications network holds up

The major telecommunication companies have won some praise for the quick response to damage caused by the earthquake.

Craig Young from the Telecommunications Users Association says Spark, Vodafone and Chorus did well.

"It's been quite an eye-opener to see all three of them working very closely together. They're looking at bringing a solution in to reconnect Kaikoura to the rest of the nation for broadband and fixed-line services quite quickly."

Mr Young says providers need to establish stronger back-up plans to provide coverage.

Rerouting the Interislander ferries

Interislander ferries could bypass Picton and sail directly from Wellington to Lyttelton as early as next week.

Damaged road and rail links are making it difficult getting passengers from Picton to Christchurch, but KiwiRail's Todd Moyle says there are several issues to consider about heading to Lyttelton.

"It is going through all of those technical issues, as well as looking at the portside infrastructure. We're also having to make sure we've got the right staff competencies, and also that the ferries are suitable for that route."

Lyttleton Port is already seeing a rise in freight since the quake.

http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/kaikoura-earthquake-bad-weather-swoops-in-2016111705